Hamilton council tables rezoning request for 508 South Range Road after neighborhood objections

Hamilton City Council on Feb. 25 voted to table a request from the property owner to rezone 508 South Range Road to mixed‑use commercial (MXC) and scheduled a follow‑up meeting for residents and the owner.

The item, introduced during the public hearing portion of the meeting, drew multiple residents who said the lot sits inside the Iowa Addition overlay district, which they said was created to preserve a single‑family residential character. Councilman Kip Andrews moved to table the rezoning and set a meeting for Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church fellowship hall so neighbors and the property owner could discuss options; the motion carried with council votes in the record showing Andrews, Leon, Wells and Gonzales voting aye.

Planning staff told the council the parcel—about 0.42 acre—has split zoning: the upper portion is zoned RM‑2 (multifamily residential) while the lower portion is zoned MXC (mixed‑use commercial). The split zoning appears in city records back to at least 1968; the Iowa Overlay was adopted in February 2005. The tax assessor’s records list the entire parcel as commercial, and the owner has asked the city to make the city zoning match the assessor’s record by rezoning the parcel all MXC.

Property owner Demetria Carter told the council she and her family view the parcel as an investment and that “there is no plan today of what will actually go there,” adding, “I have no need of a single family home to build a single family home … I have my home” and that the family wants improvements and to “clean up” the vacant lot. Carter asked the council to correct the split zoning so the city records align with the assessor’s records.

Neighborhood speakers strongly disputed that the rezoning is consistent with the Iowa Overlay. Karen Walston, a resident and participant in the overlay’s creation, cited Section 8.4 of the Hammond Unified Development Code and said the overlay’s purpose is “to preserve and secure the single family residential character of the neighborhood.” She told the council the proposed rezoning “does not meet the city’s rezoning criteria” and urged denial. Jean Voorhees and Geraldine Bennett similarly emphasized efforts to maintain single‑family character and warned rezoning concessions can erode protections.

City staff and the planning director explained the overlay places use‑based restrictions on properties but does not automatically change or erase existing underlying zoning. Staff read portions of the overlay language to the council and reminded members that a rezoning in the district requires a two‑thirds supermajority (4 of 5 votes).

Council President Andrews said a meeting between the owner and residents would give both sides a chance to discuss options; he said he would attend the neighborhood meeting set for the coming Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church.

Clarifying details from the public record: the parcel is approximately 0.42 acre; split zoning appears in city records back to at least 1968; the Iowa Addition overlay was established in February 2005; the tax assessor’s record lists the parcel entirely as commercial; rezoning in the overlay requires a two‑thirds council majority. The council took no final action on the rezoning at the Feb. 25 meeting.